Just want a carburetor for a 1957, 292 ci with a 1957 Distributor, B-manifold and G-heads (I am told-???)  Something that just works well as I use it only for summer fun here in MN. Then store it in a igloo.   I have read many articles and just get confused so figured that those driving them would be a better source.  Thanks in advance.

I've been using Holley Street Avenger carbs for the last 12 years or so.  The first lasted about 10 years, daily driven all year, without any rebuilds or cleanings.

The Summit carburetors work great and provide some higher end features for a very reasonable price.



Lawrenceville, GA

I bought a refurbished Holley Street Avenger 570 carburetor, but it's still in the box. The Holley refurbished carburetors are carburetors that have been returned to Holley. Often there is nothing wrong with them when they are returned under warranty. Holley inspects them, makes any necessary repairs, and sells them at a significant discount. The refurbished carburetors come with the same warranty and accessories that are included with brand new carburetors. If a refurbished carburetor is not in stock, you can sign up to be notified by Holley when one is available. If I hadn't bought the Street Avenger, I probably would have bought a Summit 500/600 cfm, the latter of which probably will require smaller jets. 

By the way, Ford Performance equips its $10,000 306 crate engine with the Street Avenger 570. 

For a fairly stock 292, I would suggest the Summit 500VS carb if your engine has hood clearance for a modern air cleaner.  It will not work with a drop base style air filter/cleaner unless you use the 3" filters.  Will not work with the Thunderbird air cleaner.  Joe-JDC

JDC

Here’s the link to a past thread which may prove to be helpful.
Carburetor Sizing (y-blocksforever.com)

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

I have a new Holley 1850 (600 CFM) that worked great out of the box on mine.  Supposedly a '59 vintage.  Spark plugs look nice so I didn't even need to mess with jetting.  

how about the Sumit m08600va 600 cfm carb.  any thoughts?

From a previous thread where I posted the following:


http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/FindPost161256.aspx

The Summit carbs do use the same fuel needle seats, jets, and power valves as the standard fare 4150 and 4160 Holley carburetors.  That particular line of carbs incorporates annular discharge nozzles for the fuel which gives improved atomization of the air/fuel mixture as it enters the air stream.  Servicing the carbs is relatively easy as the top of the carburetor is removed to access the jets.  The fuel reservoirs on those carbs are amply sized thus allowing those carbs to sit for longer periods without the fuel levels being diminished as quickly due to evaporation.

I do have the Summit 500 cfm version on my ’55 Ford and while it is a good driver, that carburetor is still undersized for a lightly warmed over 272.  For most stock Ford Y applications, the 600 cfm version would be a good all around choice.  For any Y engines with upgraded camshafts, larger valved heads, improved exhaust, and the other typical performance mods, the 750 Summit carburetor is my carb of choice.  The 600 and 750 versions are jetted very close as received and typically may only require a slight fuel mixture adjustment after setting the idle speed.
  

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

I have tried Summit,Ebock, and latest is the Demon 600 street carb from Holley  I like the demon the best.. great throttle response good idle and it gets better mileage than the other 2. It has small primaries which give the throttle response and mileage.. I bought mine direct from Holley as a refurb for cheap, but I see now they are within a few bucks of the other offerings.. I highly recommend them.. Mine was great out of the box. My motor is a standard 292 with Joe heads and a 312 intake and headers.. Smallish cam. 1800 stall converter and stock gears. 

Every modern 4-barrel carburetor I've looked at has a manifold-base-to-air-cleaner-base height of 3.25-in. A summit 14" drop-base air cleaner/w 3-inch element provides enough hood clearance for my Street Avenger 570 carburetor and a 1/2" carburetor spacer on my 55 Tbird. If you have a truck/full-size car, hood clearance shouldn't be a problem. If I remove the spacer, I have just enough hood clearance for a 14" oval air cleaner/w 2" element. The oval air cleaners do not have a drop base. The drop-base air cleaner, to an extent, hides the carburetor; whereas, the oval air cleaner sits on top of the carburetor. 

By the way, there's nothing fancy about the Summit air cleaner, but I paid $29. It's a chrome, open-air sheet-metal air cleaner/w no logo (which I like). If you experiment with different element heights, you need to allow for sufficient clearance between the float-bowl vents and the air-cleaner lid, regardless of carburetor/air cleaner brand/style. Using any less than a 3" element on the Summit air cleaner put the lid too close to the bowl vents. The oval air cleaner's 2" element is not a problem.